On a day where the Queen was likely to have been in the most reflective of moods, how telling it is that she was thinking of others.
Her Majesty is a grieving widow, who is still in an official period of mourning until today.
Yet she found the determination to display her heartfelt thanks to the thousands upon thousands of people around the world, who have sent messages of support in her darkest hour.
Such personal interventions are indeed rare and many may have wondered how the Queen will cope in the future, without her husband of 73 years, the longest consort in British history.
Queen Victoria, the last monarch to be made a widow when her beloved husband Prince Albert died unexpectedly in 1861 at just 42, descended into such a deep period of mourning and reclusiveness, without real direction, that the very fabric of the monarchy was threatened.
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The Queen revealed last week how the Duke of Edinburgh’s death earlier this month at the age of 99 had left a “huge void” in her life, but there is no such cause for alarm in the present day.
The message is clear, she will carry on as she has always done and is already thinking to the future after such a tumultuous year for everyone across the Commonwealth.
It has been heartwarming to see how this family, so often in recent times battling scandal and infighting in certain quarters, has rallied round to support the boss in her hour of need.
No doubt they will all have been hugely comforted by the outpouring of support after Prince Philip’s passing and perhaps some would do well to use it as a platform to unite once more.
